Christmas Eve murder suspect trial set

NEW ORLEANS - Gary Francois, accused of gunning down another man in a suburban New Orleans shopping mall on Christmas Eve, will go to trial Nov. 3.

State District Judge Lee Faulkner of Gretna set the date Friday for Francois after denying a defense motion to prevent the jury from hearing witness testimony.

Francois is accused of shooting 24-year-old James Vaughn as he made a purchase inside Oakwood Mall's Foot Locker store

Defense attorney Michael Kennedy says one of the witnesses has expressed less than complete certainty about the shooter's identity, and another has Francois in the store prior to the shooting. He argued those equivocations should have made the testimony inadmissible.

The judge disagreed.

Authorities have not identified a possible motive but say François knew Vaughn.